John Ford, The Searchers, And The Grapes Of Wrath

Comparative Analysis Paper

One of the most notable Hollywood Style director’s in my personal opinion would be John Ford. Mainly active during the 1920’s up until early 1970’s, John continued to direct countless films that significantly help categorize him in his own way of directing. John was mainly known for his classic westerns such as, Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Grapes of Wrath, which I’ll be covering in this paper. Mainly all of his films fell into the western category and shaped the category itself in the early ages. John liked to use a “Stock Company” of stars for his films. Many stars appeared in at least 2 or more of his films. Doing research on Mr. Ford, I could not find any films he directed that were considered a “failure”. At the same time, there is not much information

Numerous times during The Searchers, framing techniques are used. The opening scene, Ethan rides across the dessert and you see the mountains in the background. Later on, John uses extensive shots of the horizon to keep with his “natural landscapes” theme you find over and over during the film. Music in The Searchers is another element Ford uses. Using one musical idea for the film, the tune keeps its basic shape but becomes more complex as it is developed. While watching, examples of this can be found when Ethan’s family is under attack until you hear Scar’s horneall. Or, when Brad is killed, there is no music under the attack. The music was able to tell which shot killed him. During the film you can also find mise-en-scene. This comes from the love affair of Martha and Ethan. The first hint of the affair happens when Ethan rides up and kissed her on the forehead. Martha leads Ethan into the house backpedaling to never break eye contact with him. Mather and Ethan are placed on the same side while her husband the opposite. She takes off his jacket and the camera follows, as if the camera was Ethan’s